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EACH PAMPHLET IS ONE UNIT IN A COMPLETE LIBRARY OF MACHINE DE¬ 
SIGN AND SHOP PRACTICE REVISED AND REPUBLISHED FROM MACHINERY 


No. 61 

A Dollar’s Worth of Condensed Information on 

Blacksmith Shop 

Practice 

Price 25 Cents 

CONTENTS 

Arrangement and Equipment of a Model Blacksmith 
Shop, by James Cran - 3 

Welding, by James Cran _____ 13 

The Forging of Hooks and Chains, by James Cran - 24 

Miscellaneous Blacksmith Shop Appliances and Methods 31 


Copyright 1910, The Industrial Press, Publishers of MACHINERY, 
49-55 Lafayette Street, New York City 































































































































Class 

Book 



Copyright N°. 


COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 


4 












































MACHINERY’S 
REFERENCE SERIES 


EACH NUMBER IS ONE UNIT IN A COMPLETE 
LIBRARY OF MACHINE DESIGN AND SHOP 
PRACTICE REVISED AND REPUB¬ 
LISHED FROM MACHINERY 


S'! 3 



NUMBER 61 

BLACKSMITH SHOP 
PRACTICE 


CONTENTS 

Arrangement and Equipment of a Model Blacksmith 


Shop, by James Cran ------ 3 

Welding, by James Cran ----- 13 

The Forging of Hooks and Chains, by James Cran - 24 

Miscellaneous Blacksmith Shop Appliances and 
Methods --------- 31 


t 


Copyright, 1910, The Industrial Press, Publishers of Machinery, 
49-55 Lafayette Street, New York City 



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CHAPTER I 


V 


ARRANGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT OP A 
MODEL BLACKSMITH SHOP* 

Buildings for manufacturing purposes are as a rule constructed more 
or less in accordance with recognized standards that have been adopted 
on account of their adaptability for the particular class of work they 
are to be used for. In plants of the larger machine-building concerns 
and similar industries usually all buildings are of the same general 
style throughout with the exception of the blacksmith or forge shop, 
which is often entirely different. Why this should be, no good reason 
is apparent from a practical point of view, as the style adopted is 
often less suitable for the purpose than that of the other buildings, and 
the result is that very often blacksmiths and forge men have of neces¬ 
sity to work under conditions that are anything but an incentive to 
the best results. Workmen, no matter what the nature of their occu¬ 
pation may be, will, do more and better work under pleasant and at¬ 
tractive conditions than they can be expected to do in a gloomy at¬ 
mosphere. In this respect blacksmiths are no exception to the rule. 
As their art is indispensable to all other industries, a few practical 
suggestions that would have a tendency, if adopted, to reduce cost, 
increase and improve production for the employer, and bring about 
better conditions for the blacksmith, may not be out of place. 

The principal essentials of a blacksmith shop where maximum pro¬ 
duction at minimum cost is expected, are light, ventilation, sanitary 
arrangements and sufficient space to accommodate a full equipment 
of machinery and appliances systematically arranged and installed. 
What the writer considers a basis that could be worked from in con¬ 
structing, equipping and arranging blacksmith shops from a few forges 
capacity to the largest is shown and described in the following. 


Foundations and Walls 


To begin with, the foundation has first to be considered. Where a 
rock bottom can be had very little preparation for building is neces¬ 
sary, but where building has to be done upon sand, clay or swampy 
ground it is important that the foundation be made thoroughly solid, 
otherwise the jar from steam hammers and other machinery will have 
a tendency to warp and crack the walls. The construction, in general, 
like that of buildings for other purposes, should be governed to a certain 
extent by the class, size and weight of the work that has to be done. 
If used for light forging exclusively, the walls need neither be as high 
nor as heavy as where the work is varied or of large proportions. For 
light and medium weight work walls need not be more than from 15 
to 20 feet in height, but for heavy work or where it is of a wide variety 
as in railroad or heavy machine building shops, the walls should be 


* Machinery, October, 1900. 




4 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


from 20 to 25 feet in height so that there would be sufficient space 
between the tops of large steam hammers and the roof trusses for the 
free use of jib cranes or other overhead lifting and conveying devices. 

Very little can be said specifically regarding the foundation, as gen¬ 
eral conditions and the nature of the site would have to be taken into 
account before any authentic information could be given, other than 
that it should be made as solid as possible. The walls, preferably of 
brick or reinforced concrete, should be of a more substantial nature 
than is generally required for other purposes. The piers between 
windows may be supported either with pilasters or buttresses or a 
combination of both. For the admission of plenty of fresh air which 
is essential in all manufacturing buildings, especially in blacksmith 
shops where more or less heat is radiated from forges and furnaces, 
the windows should not be over 36 inches above the level of the floor. 
If placed higher in the walls, which is often done to save their being 
broken by flying pieces of iron or steel, or to conform with a pet theory 
of protecting the men employed from drafts, they are too high to be of 
much benefit other than admitting light, as the greater portion of the 
air admitted enters at a point too high to benefit the workmen or to 
keep the lower portion of the shop where heat is generated cool enough 
to be comfortable. Plain sash windows that can be raised from the 
bottom and lowered from the top are the best type to use and can be 
protected inside and out with wire screen. In locating doors it is well 
to have one in each end of the building large enough for the admittance 
or removal of any kind of work or material, and to have others in the 
side walls where they may be required. 

Forge Space and Arrangement 

The next thing that calls for attention is the amount of space that 
is necessary for each forge. This depends very much upon their ar¬ 
rangement. If they are grouped as is customary in some shops, a 
saving of space is effected, but work in general cannot be so conveni¬ 
ently or economically handled as when they are arranged in rows, 
for the reason that in groups men from some of the forges will either 
have to pass between other men and their forges or anvils or take a 
long roundabout way to and from steam hammers; not only this, but 
work is often of a shape that can only be handled to advantage on 
forges with at least three sides accessible. It is therefore advisable 
that they be arranged in rows at a sufficient distance from the walls 
to allow of portable vise benches, surface plates, etc., being used where 
the light is best, and moved from place to place as they are required, 
without necessarily taking them into the center of the floor or between 
blacksmiths and steam hammers. With forges installed from 5 to 6 
feet from the walls and 16 feet of space allowed for each as shown in 
the plan view on pages 20 and 21, there would just be sufficient space 
around them for the tools generally used at the anvil and the con¬ 
venient handling of all ordinary blacksmith work. For light work 
they may be placed a little closer than 16 feet, but more difficulty is 
experienced in trying to do work in limited space than where there is 




ARRANGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT 5 

sufficient room. Wherever conditions will permit, it is preferable to 
have blacksmith shops, if they exceed the capacity of 10 forges, wide 
enough for a row on each side with corresponding rows of steam and 
power hammers facing the forges on the side of the shop in which they 
are installed. 

Forges used for the average range of blacksmithing are from 36 to 
48 inches in width. With these placed 5 feet from the walls and anvils 
from 18 to 24 inches out from the line of forges, the distance from 
wall to anvil will be approximately 11 feet. At least 12 feet of clear 
space should be allowed between the line of anvils and steam or belt- 
driven hammers, the bases of which are anywhere from 5% to 8 feet 
in length. As a certain amount of space behind the hammers is neces¬ 
sary, 10 feet more may be added. Thus a shop of approximately 40 
feet in width is required for single rows of forges and hammers and 
80 feet for double rows. The advantages of a short wide shop over a 
long narrow one are obvious. It is more compact and better under the 
observation of the man in charge. The space back of the steam ham¬ 
mers is doubled, making the center of the shop wide enough for a line 
of car tracks which may be standard or narrow gage, and for the hand¬ 
ling of work too long or of a shape that could not be advantageously 
handled by ordinary means. Not only this, but the saving in actual 
construction, which would amount to about one-third, is an item too 
important to be overlooked. 

There are, however, certain elements to be contended with in the 
construction of a wide building that can be entirely dispensed with 
in a narrow one. When a building exceeds a certain width some sup¬ 
ports for the roof other than the walls are necessary if cost, which is 
a prime factor, is to be kept at the lowest margin. These roof sup¬ 
ports are generally in the form of columns so arranged that the weight 
is evenly divided. In blacksmith shops columns or supports should be 
located where they , would offer the least obstruction to the handling 
of work which is almost invariably hot, and the success of the various 
operations of shaping it depends upon reaching a steam hammer in 
the least possible time after it is removed from the fire. It is there¬ 
fore obvious that the fewer obstructions that are to be avoided, the 
greater the probability of the work being successfully accomplished. 
Just behind the line of steam hammers, columns would be entirely out 
of the way, and would serve the double purpose of supporting the roof 
and traveling cranes or trolleys. 

The points considered and the provision for the storing of bar stock, 
coal and other materials used in blacksmithing in the same building 
or adjacent to it, constitute the most important features of an ideal 
blacksmith shop, which may be constructed, laid out and arranged as 
indicated in the following, the general outline given being used as a 
basis to work from. 

The general arrangements of a shop of 18 forges in which provision 
has been made for a full equipment of appliances generally used in a 
shop of that capacity are shown in the illustrations.on pages 20 and 21. 
One end is assigned to material, as bar stock, coal, etc., and space for 


6 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


cutting-off and centering machines, in short all that is required for 
putting work in proper condition to be turned over to the machine 
shop without workmen having of necessity to go outside the building. 
Forges are arranged in rows 5 feet from the side walls, with those in¬ 
tended for the largest and heaviest work nearest to the stock supply 
for which one end of the building is exclusively assigned. All forges 
are served by an overhead trolley system, one cross-section of which 
is assigned to each forge for lifting and supporting work at the anvil. 
Forges for the larger work are further supplied with jib cranes so ar¬ 
ranged that the column is well out of the way of the work, so that it can 
be used for conveying to and supporting at the steam hammer the 
work of two forges, the furnace being located near the hammer that it 
serves. 


Arrangement of Steam- and Belt-driven Hammers 

All power hammers, steam and belt-driven, with the exception of one, 
which will be referred to later, are installed in rows facing the forges 
at a distance of 12 feet from the line of anvils, which is just sufficient 
space for the general range of blacksmith work being done at steam 
hammers without conflicting with that being done at forges. The 
steam hammer A which is reversed and out of alignment with other 
hammers can be used for such work as welding long shafts, lead-screws 
for long lathes, locomotive frames or any other work too long or of a 
shape that could not be advantageously handled by ordinary means. 
This class of work is supported by hooks from an overhead trolley and 
heated in a portable forge so arranged that it drops clear of the work 
when it is ready to be conveyed to the hammer by turning a lever. 
This forge is shown and described in the next chapter in connection 
with the treatment on welding. No definite information can be given 
upon the number of steam or power hammers necessary for any given 
number of forges, as that would depend very much upon the class of 
work to be done. Sometimes three or more blacksmiths could use the 
same hammer to block out their work without wasting time in wait¬ 
ing for turns, or one man’s work conflicting with another’s, while on 
other kinds of work one man may monopolize one hammer for a time. 
In any case the equipment of hammers and other power appliances 
should be ample for the requirements, otherwise much time may be 
wasted in men having to wait after their stock is heated before they 
can have access to a hammer, or in having to leave it before an opera¬ 
tion is completed. In a shop of 18 forges where work is of a wide 
variety of shape and size, from 6 to 9 hammers will be required. Gen¬ 
erally a great part of machine blacksmithing, especially blocking out, 
can be much more economically heated in furnaces than is possible 
when forges are used exclusively. It is therefore advisable to use fur¬ 
naces for all work that can be heated in them, and have them as near 
to steam hammers as is practicable. In most of the blacksmith shops 
connected with manufacturing plants one or more toolsmiths are em¬ 
ployed, and more or less carbonizing, heat treating, annealing, harden¬ 
ing and tempering has to be done. This class of work should be as 


ARRANGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT 7 

much concentrated as possible, located in the shop where it would be 
least likely to conflict with other work and be under the charge of a 
sub-foreman. Saws, shears, cutting-off, straightening and centering 
machines, together with any other machine tools that may be used, 
should be located near the stock supply and if possible near the point 
from which finished work is forwarded to the various departments 
where it is wanted. These machines and all bar stock would constitute 
a department that could be attended to by a sub-foreman. 

Location of Blowers, Conduits and Piping- 

The blower for supplying forges and furnaces with blast and the 
fan for mechanical draft, if a down-draft system of carrying off 
smoke and gases is to be used, may be installed as near to each other 
as is practicable and operated by the same motive power, preferably 
motor drive. Common practice is to elevate blowers and fans above 
the level of forges; sometimes they are placed upon a platform in the 
roof trusses to save floor space. This practice is not to be com¬ 
mended for the reason that when the wind gate of a forge or furnace 
happens to be left open when the blower is closed, gas generated by 
the still ignited fuel upon the forge enters the pipes and naturally 
rises. It may escape through the blower unless it happens to be 
started up before the fire upon the forge has died out. When this hap¬ 
pens the gas is forced back upon the still burning fuel where it is 
ignited, causing an explosion which may ruin pipes and damage the 
blower. If blowers and fans are installed in a pit below the level of 
the floor, they are more accessible and the danger of being damaged 
by explosions is minimized from the fact that gas will not descend 
except when forced. Generally blast is conducted from the blower to 
forges and furnaces through a main pipe which is reduced in size as 
it passes the various branch pipes which connect with the forges. 
This has a tendency to make the pressure greatest near the terminal 
of the main pipe. To equalize the blast pressure at all points the 
main pipe should be in the shape of a loop, both sides of which may 
be of equal capacity to the discharge of the blower so that it would 
act as a reservoir permitting of branch pipes being connected with it 
at right angles instead of the more acute angles generally used, and 
should it be necessary to increase the blowing facilities or enlarge the 
capacity of the shop this could be done without changing the blast 
pipe. In an ideal blacksmith shop all piping should be where it is 
least likely to be in the way and still be accessible. For this purpose 
an underground conduit is provided in the shape of a loop directly 
under the line of forges as shown by dotted lines in the plan view on 
pages 20 and 21 and also in the cross-section below, of a size sufficient 
to accommodate the entire piping system including blast, steam, water, 
gas, oil, compressed air, heat for warming the shop in cold weather, 
smoke, sewer or any other piping or wiring that may be necessary, 
and to which access may be had through openings in the floor be- 
twen forges. These openings should be lined with concrete covered 
with slatted platforms upon which blacksmiths could stand at their 


s 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


work and through which heat could be admitted in cold weather and 
cool air in warm weather either through the heating system or open¬ 
ings in the walls fitted with gratings and shutters that could be 
opened and closed at will. The water supply which is essential in 
all blacksmith shops is more important than is generally supposed; 
each forge ought to be provided with a slake tub, the water in which 
should be kept fresh. If this has to be carried from a general supply 
pipe as is customary in most shops, much time is wasted both in 
emptying and refilling the tubs, that could be turned to good account if 
a faucet and sewer connection were located near each forge and else¬ 
where about the shop where they may be required. These connections 
should not be made directly with the tubs, except at forges used by 
tool-smiths or where hardening has to be done, as it is often necessary 
to move tubs and other appliances at forges used for regular forging 
to make room for work of unusual shape. 

Furnaces, Tool Racks, Hammer Foundations and Piping- 

Furnaces to be used for heating work that is to be blocked to shape 
in quantities at steam hammers and those used for heating material 
to be drop-forged or shaped in forging machines, bolt-headers or bull¬ 
dozers, may be heated either with solid fuel or oil. Oil is preferable 
for several reasons. It is conducted from the supply tank to where 
it is to be used automatically through pipes. Once ignited the supply 
can be regulated and the heat maintained at an even temperature for 
any length of time. There is practically no refuse to be removed and 
no time is wasted in waiting for a fresh supply of fuel reaching the 
proper temperature for the work to be done as is the case with any 
kind of solid fuel. For each steam and power hammer there should 
be a tool rack, preferably portable, of which Fig. 1 is an example, that 
would accommodate a full set of spring swages, fullers, breaking-down 
tools, hacks, bolsters or any other appliances that may be used in con¬ 
nection with hammers, each tool as far as possible being assigned to 
its own place upon the rack. This would overcome the disadvantage 
of having to turn over a miscellaneous heap of tools usually stacked 
upon the floor to find the one that is wanted and to move them indi¬ 
vidually should the space they occupy be temporarily wanted for some 
other purpose. 

To get the greatest efficiency from steam power hammers the foun¬ 
dations upon which they are mounted must be solid. Concrete resting 
upon hard pan has given better results than the combination of heavy 
wooden beams and concrete commonly used. In installing solid con¬ 
crete foundations there snould be several inches of cement placed over 
the concrete and a cushion of wood at least three inches in thickness 
placed between the cement and the base of the anvil to give the neces¬ 
sary resiliency and prevent the concrete being pulverized by the im¬ 
pact of the blows. Back and front of the hammers there should be 
openings down to the level of the anvil base so that it could be leveled 
or adjusted by wedging up and grouting with cement if for any reason 
it should get sagged or out of alignment with the upper parts of the 





ARRANGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT 9 

hammer. These openings should be covered with hatches level with 
the floor. 

By conducting steam to hammers from the main steam pipes in the 
underground conduit through branch pipes provided with traps, the 
disadvantages and annoyance caused by condensation are practically 
obviated, providing the supply pipes are enclosed in non-conductive 
casing until they are connected with cylinders. The exhaust and all 
other pipes leading from hammers may be accommodated in the same 
casing down to the floor level, 'where they may be conducted outside 
the building through conduits and allowed to discharge in the usual 
manner or be turned into a condenser and ultimately into the sewer. 

Foreman’s Office, Wash Room, Lockers, etc. 

The foreman’s office and the room used for special tools, fixtures, 
formers, welding compounds, etc., should be connected, if possible, 
and located centrally in a position from which the whole or the 
greater part of the shop could be easily seen and if possible near the 
door that is used the most. If that happened to be a side door, office 
and tool-room may be as shown in the plan view on pages 20 and 21. 
Should an end door be more convenient the office and tool-room may 
occupy the space assigned to forge No. 8. For convenience as well as 
economy, blacksmith shops should be provided with washing accom¬ 
modation, locker rooms and lavatories, which would not only add to 
the comfort of the men employed, but w r ould be the means of saving 
the time that is wasted in going to other buildings. In a shop of 18 
forges there should be locker and washing accommodations for at 
least 60 men. This at a conservative estimate would occupy at least 
650 square feet of floor space. The lavatory for obvious reasons 
should be separate from the locker and washroom, but in close prox¬ 
imity, and is therefore shown in the floor plan just beyond the parti¬ 
tion that separates the shop from the coal storage. 

Flooring- 

There is much difference of opinion as to the material that is best 
adapted for the flooring of blacksmith shops. Wood is too inflam¬ 
mable, bricks crack and break from the heat and impact of work being 
laid upon them, cement or concrete is poorly adapted for the same 
reason, and asphalt is out of the question. Nothing that has been 
tried so far has given better satisfaction or can be installed at less 
cost than dirt mixed with ashes. If kept moist by being watered at 
least once every day it is more comfortable to stand upon than any¬ 
thing else that can be used for the purpose. It is easily repaired 
and leveled should holes or irregularities get worn in it, and it is not 
affected in the least by hot or heavy pieces of work or material being 
dropped or laid upon it. The space between walls and forges, how¬ 
ever, may be covered with concrete and cement to facilitate the hand¬ 
ling of such appliances as portable surface-plates and vises, and the 
floor of wash-rooms and lavatories may be of asphalt, while that of the 
foreman’s office and tool-room may be of wood. 


SPRING SWAGES, ETC 


10 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


u 









Fig. 3. Rack for Heavy Bars 


































































































































11 


ARRANGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT 

The spaces assigned to cutting-off machinery, etc., and that for drop- 
hammers and other machines used in making die forgings has not 
been laid out in detail for the reason that machines for that class of 
work vary so much in general outline and in size that it would be 
difficult to arrange them satisfactorily except by knowing the size of 
work they are to be used for. 

Bar Stock Racks and Storage 

In storing bar stock several things have to be considered if time is 
to be saved and the chances of making mistakes in using wrong ma¬ 
terial minimized. Racks are necessary for the purpose and should be 
constructed in a manner best suited for the accommodation of th-e 



■ r . .._ i I I-» -- r 1 - 1 

CAST IRON BASE Machinery N.Y. 

Fig. 4. Rack for Round or Square Bar Stock up to Four Inches 


various kinds of material, and so that bars can be lifted from the sides 
instead of having to be pulled from the end, as must be done when 
the common lattice pattern rack is used. For tool steel or any other 
special material, racks of the type shown in Fig. 2 will be found to be 
the most convenient, as bars can be stood on end irrespective of 
length, and short pieces kept in the enclosed portion at the bottom. 
For the more ordinary grades of stock up to a certain size, a rack of 
the type shown in Figs. 4 and 5 will be found to be very convenient, 
as bars can be removed from the sides, which is much more expedient 
than pulling them from the ends. Lengths too short to be supported 
by the arms can be placed in the box-shaped receptacle at the base. 
For bars too heavy to be stored upon racks of the types already shown, 
a platform raised a little above the level of the floor and divided into 
sections by upright stakes, which may either be of cast iron or steel 
of structural shapes as shown in Fig. 3, may be used. All material 
should be designated by colors on the ends of the bars to correspond 
with the colors of the racks in which they are stored. 






































































12 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


Communication between the stock-room and cutting-off department 
should be through sliding doors that would permit of bars too heavy 
to be lifted by hand, being lifted and conveyed between the two places 
by an overhead trolley system, to pass through the sliding doors at the 
point where they come together. 

Fuel Storage and Roof Construction 

On the opposite side of the building from the bar stock store are 
the pockets for storing coal, coke, charcoal or any of the other solid 
fuels that may be used. The approach to these pockets is a line of 
standard gage car tracks elevated upon trestle work and entering the 
building through a door in the end wall above the level of the pockets 
as shown in the lower view on page 21, this door being large enough 



Fig. 5. Detail of Upright and Arms for Rack shown in Fig. 4 


to admit locomotive and cars so that coal, etc., could be dumped di¬ 
rectly into the pockets from which it could be supplied to forges or 
furnaces by hand cars. 

The roofing of a building as here depicted, apart from general out¬ 
lines, is a subject upon which the constructing engineer ought to be 
left with a free hand, as stresses must be calculated and tension and 
compression members of the trusses arranged accordingly. The sides 
of the ventilating monitor, however, should be at least 6 feet in height 
to admit of the windows used being of a size sufficient to throw good 
light upon the anvils at the opposite sides of the shop. These win¬ 
dows should be balanced upon horizontal trunnions so that they could 
be opened and closed by means of cords or rods operated from the 
floor. 






























CHAPTER II 


WELDING* 

Up to comparatively recent years, the only process of welding 
wrought iron and steel was to heat the parts to be welded in a forge 
or furnace until they had reached a semi-melting condition, after 
which they were united by hammering. At the present time there are 
several distinct processes which give the same, or in some cases, better 
results than are possible by the ordinary process mentioned. Among 
these may be mentioned the Thermit process (see Machinery, March, 
1903), the electric welding process (see Machinery, April, 1908), and 
the autogenous welding process (see Machinery, October, 1908). 

The first mention of welding by electricity, was made by James P. 
Joule, of Manchester, England, in a paper published in 1856. It was, 
however, more than thirty years later before electricity became used 
for welding in the mechanical arts. One feature of importance in re- 



- fr- . 

B B 


* — v i - 

^ C Machinery,N. Y. 

Pig. 6. Incorrect Upset and Scarf- Fig. 7. Correct Upset and Scarfing 
ing for Plain Lap Welding for Plain Lap Welding 

lation to the electric welding is that it makes possible not only the 
welding of iron and steel, but of metals widely dissimilar, as high car¬ 
bon to low carbon steel, brass or copper to iron or steel, etc. It is, 
however, the writer’s intention to deal in the following principally 
with welding as it is, or rather as it should be, done at the forge. It 
is the oldest, the most common, and, perhaps, the least understood of 
the welding processes. It has not received the attention that its im¬ 
portance merits, nor has it improved with other mechanical arts. 
Brawn and muscle have generally been considered more essential to 
the blacksmith than brains, and thus the fact that preparing the pieces 
to be welded is of as much importance as the actual heating and 
hammering, is far too seldom taken into consideration. The prepara¬ 
tion of work for welding depends greatly upon the shape of the forg¬ 
ing and the class of work for which it is intended. 

Plain Lap Weld. 

The most common joint is the plain lap weld used on plain straight 
work, such as round, square, or flat stock, up to a certain weight and 


* Machinery, December, 1908. 


































14 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


length. In nine cases out of every ten, the pieces are prepared and 
placed together for welding as shown in Fig. 6. The upsetting is 
done on the extreme ends of the pieces, as shown at A, and the 
greater part of the upset has to be drawn down to form a scarf, the 
face and sides of which are generally a series of steps or notches as 
indicated at B. The parts are placed in position for welding as 
shown at C. Some blacksmiths claim that notches on a scarf are an 
advantage and keep the pieces from slipping when being hammered 
together. This idea is responsible for a great deal of poor welding 
inasmuch as the notches make the best kind of a trap for slag or any 
foreign matter that is liable to adhere to them while heating. If this 
slag is closed in between the pieces, as it is almost sure to be when 
the points of the scarfs are welded first, as is generally done, all 
means of escape for slag or dirt is cut off, and the welding will only 
be effected in spots. The defect will show up in machining if the 
weld does not come apart before. 

If pieces are prepared as shown in Fig. 7, defective welding will be 
reduced to the minimum. The upsetting should be done at least the 




aJ 

. 

B J 

- 




_» 1_ 

: i 


Machinery,N. Y. 

Fig. 8. Correct and Incorrect Methods of Scarfing for Jump Weld 


thickness of the stock from the end, as at A, so that it will not be 
affected by the scarfing. This makes less upsetting necessary, and the 
scarfing is more easily done. The face and sides of the scarf should 
be fairly smooth, and crowned slightly in the center as at B, so that 
when they have been heated and brought together for welding, the 
center will be the first part to unite as shown at C. Any slag or dirt 
that may have adhered to the heated surfaces will be forced out as the 
welding proceeds from the center to the point of one scarf and then 
to the other. 

Jump Weld 

In welding forgings of the style shown in Fig. 8, usually only one 
piece, the shank, is prepared. It is upset on the extreme end, the 
edges scarfed and thinned, and the face left perfectly level, as shown 
at A. When prepared in this manner, the chances are that a little 
slag will adhere to the flat surface and be closed in between the two 
pieces. The edges of the scarf will be the only parts to unite with 
the other piece, and will have to support the whole strain that may 
come on the forging. 

Work of this kind should be prepared as shown at B. the flat piece 
being hollowed out with a bob-punch as shown by the dotted line, and 
the shank upset and scarfed, as indicated, until it is just small enough 
so that the spherical portion will bear in the bottom of the impression, 





















WELDING 


15 


but not quite touch the sides. When heated to a welding temperature 
and placed in position, the first point of adhesion will be at the center, 
and two or three blows will upset the shank sufficiently to fill the im¬ 
pression. Any slag or dirt will be forced out as the welding pro¬ 
ceeds, and a solid piece of work is insured when the weld is com¬ 
pleted. This style of welding is known as jump welding. 

Butt Weld 

Shafting and similar work, when made of wrought iron, can be 
butt-weided to advantage, the only preparation necessary being to up¬ 
set the ends coming together, Slightly crowning them in the center. 
The two ends are kept in alignment with a dowel pin as shown in 



Fig. 9. Wrought Iron Shaft Prepared for Butt Welding 



Fig. lO. Ram for Upsetting Long Bars 





-P- 

Mach inery,N. Y. 


Fig. 12. Carrying-bar for Long Heavy Forgings 

Fig. 9. When heated to the proper temperature, the parts may be 
welded before they are removed from the forge by using a sledge ham¬ 
mer on one end, or, if the pieces are of large dimensions, a ram should 
be used. The welding commences at the center, and all slag or dirt 
is forced out as the pieces come together. By the time the weld is 
complete, the diameter around the heated parts will be found to have 
increased. This excess can be worked down to the same size as the 
rest of the piece either at the anvil or steam hammer while it is 
still at a welding temperature. 

Welding- Steel 

It is not advisable to butt-weld steel at the forge, as the pieces are 
liable to came apart when the upset portion is being worked down to 

















































16 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


the same size as the rest of the piece. All forgings either of ordinary 
machinery or carbon steel should be made from the solid, if possible. 
If this is impracticable, welding should be done either by the plain 
lap method or by split weld. The split weld is seldom used except 
upon very long or heavy work, such as shafting, lead-screws for long 
lathes, and similar work where the parts are either too long or too 
heavy to be heated separately and placed upon each other for welding 
with any degree of comfort or accuracy. Work of this kind is usually 
prepared for welding by being heated on the end and upset with a ram 
of the style shown in Fig. 10, which is suspended from above by a 
chain attached to the ring of the ram with a hook. The ram is ar¬ 
ranged so that it can be adjusted to any height. It is swung hori¬ 
zontally by means of a rope attached to the shank or handle. Three 
or four men are needed to give it momentum and one man to guide it 
by the shank. An equal number of men are needed to keep the shaft 



in position when acted upon by the ram. When the pieces have been 
sufficiently upset, one is scarfed as shown at A, Fig. 11, and the other 
is split and scarfed in the shape of a snake’s head as shown at B. 
A few sharp burrs are raised with a chisel on the sides of A. Part B 
is heated and closed in on the burrs which keep it in position, as 

shown at C. The parts are then placed on the forge, heated, and 

welded in the usual manner at the steam hammer. 

Bars of the style shown in Fig. 12 are used to lift the shaft from 

the forge and convey it to the hammer. One man is required for 

each end of the bar; sometimes as many as a dozen or more bars are 
used, according to the length and weight of the work. When the di¬ 
ameter exceeds three inches, the separate pieces are usually held in 
position by means of clamps, as shown in Fig. 13. When the heat 
has been raised sufficiently high for welding the pieces, they may be 
forced together, before removing them from the forge, by using a 
sledge hammer or a ram on one end of the work. When the pieces 
have been fairly united, the tie rods A are removed, allowing the 
work to be turned in the fire so that all sides can be brought as near 
as possible to the same temperature. The shaft is then lifted from 
the forge to the steam hammer, where the welded portion is worked 















































WELDING 


17 


down to about the same diameter as the remainder, using the clamps 
which are still left in position for handling and turning it. 

Making- Long- Lead-screws 

Lead-screws frequently are as long as sixty feet, and occasionally 
eighty feet or over. Defective welding on this class of work is very 
serious as it renders the screws practically useless. When work of 
this nature exceeds the length of the longest lathe in the shop, two or 
three bars, together equaling in length about the capacity of the avail¬ 
able lathe, are welded together, turned, and the thread cut to within 



Fig. 14. Upsetting Attachment for Preparing Heavy Shafts for Welding 



Fig. 15. Upsetting Attachment ready for Operation 


about three feet of the end of the bar. This is then returned to the 
blacksmith shop where a few more lengths are welded on, which are 
also turned and threaded. This is repeated until the full length has 
been reached. 

To facilitate handling and to reduce the cost of such work, the 
writer designed the upsetting attachment for the steam hammer 
shown in Fig. 14, which takes the place of the ram and can be used 
with considerably less help, the blacksmith, his helper, and the steam 
hammer operator being all that is required. To use the attachment, 
the anvil block is removed from the steam hammer, and the fixture is 
keyed in its place. The ends of the bars to be upset are heated, placed 
in V-blocks A, which are notched or toothed inside to insure their 








18 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


bearing being firm upon the work, the grip being just behind the 
heated portion. The V-blocks are brought to bear upon the work by 
means of a lever and cam B. The V-blocks with the w r ork held firmly 
between them are placed in a recess C in the end of the fixture, there¬ 
by preventing them from moving backwards. A steel plate made to 
slide in groove D comes in contact with the hot end of the work. The 
plate is forced forward in the groove by wedge E, driven home by the 
steam hammer. Should the wedge in any way become cramped, it 
can be removed by a small wedge F which crosses its point near the 
lower side of the attachment. If the amount of upsetting done at one 
operation is insufficient, the grip can be released upon the work in the 



Pig. 16. Portable Forge ready for Use 


V-blocks, the shaft pushed through as far as it will go, and the opera¬ 
tion repeated. A fixture of this style can be arranged to form collars 
or in fact any kind of work where upsetting is necessary. In Fig. 15 
the device is shown ready for operation. 

Portable Forge for Welding 

Figs. 16 and 17 show a portable forge specially designed by the 
writer for heating long work to be welded. The general arrangements 
are such as to afford 'greater convenience in heating and handling this 
class of work than is possible with an ordinary forge. By its use a 
saving of at least 75 per cent in help is effected. In Fig. 16 the work 
is shown in position ready for heating, and supported by hooks. The 
body of the forge is made deep enough to support the sides of the fire 
which necessarily have to be high enough to allow the work to be 
covered by it. The forge is lined with fire brick to prevent the sides 
getting overheated and warped. The top is covered with a large fire 
brick bound around the edges with iron straps, and supported by a 











WELDING 


19 


chain from above. A hole in the center of the brick allows smoke and 
gases to escape; this hole can be closed or partly closed, when neces¬ 
sary, with a piece of sheet iron or boiler plate. The fire brick cover 
gives all the advantages and none of the disadvantages of a hollow 
fire for welding, as it can be placed in position or removed without 
in the least disturbing the fire. The forge is mounted on wheels at¬ 
tached to the bouy with axles which can be spread by means of a lever 
and linK motion (see Figs. 16 and 17), allowing the body to drop far 
enough for work to be removed without lifting it to clear the sides 
of the fire. To make the forge easy to raise and lower, the body is 
counterweighted, the weights being made to slide on levers so that 
they can be adjusted to give a perfect balance. They are held in posi¬ 



tion with set-screws. The other ends of the levers are connected to 
the body with links, and work in fulcrums attached to the track on 
which the wheels rest. The fulcrums are just high enough to clear 
the bottom of the air chamber when the forge is raised to its full 
height, which allows it to be easily removed from the track when the 
levers are disconnected. Fig. 16 shows the forge lowered, and the 
brick cover suspended by the chain clear of the work. The latter can 
be conveyed to the steam hammer, as it rests in hooks connected with 
an overhead trolley. Fig. 17 shows a view of the forge when raised to 
its highest position by the linkage. 

Air is supplied from a blower through a flexible hose attached to a 
flanged pipe. The shut-off can be opened or closed from either side 
of the forge by means of the two small levers. When in use, the 
; orge has to be placed so that when the work to be welded is in posi¬ 
tion for heating it will be on a level with the lower die of the steam 
hammer. It is necessary to use a trolley system of the style indi-~ 










CONDUIT 


20 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 




End View of Blacksmith Shop 


Cross-section, i 















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































ii 


ARRANGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT 


21 


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ving Travelers 


End View, showing Car Trestle Opening for Discharging Fuel 








































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































99 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


cated in Fig. 18 to convey the work from the forge to the steam ham¬ 
mer and from the steam hammer to the forge. The side track should 
be long enough to allow handling the longest work and wide enough 
to reach from the forge to the steam hammer. The cross trolleys, of 
which there should be at least four, support the work in hooks fitted 
with turnbuckles so that they can he adjusted to the proper length. 
With four or more cross trolleys the longest work can be perfectly bal¬ 
anced and conveyed from forge to steam hammer without any danger 
of bending or distorting the hot portion. This type of forge can be 
used for purposes other than welding. By closing the opening on 
one side, it can be used as a furnace for heating any kind of forging 
within its capacity. Being portable, it can be placed near a steam or 



Fig. 18. Diagram of Trolley System in Blacksmith Shop for Handling 

Long Lead-screws 


trip hammer or any other place where it would be most convenient 
for the work being done. 

Fig. 19 shows the style of tuyere used in the forge already described. 
This type of tuyere can be used with any kind of a forge and will give 
better results and less trouble than the average tuyere in general 
use, especially in welding. It being in the shape of half a sphere, 
clinkers and slag will not choke it but will form a ring around the 
base and as a rule can be removed from the fire without breaking 
them up. Most tuyeres in general use are usually flat or slightly 
hollow. Slag or clinkers accumulate in the center, and are a source 
of annoyance in doing any kind of forge work, especially welding. 
The tuyere here shown has a single hole to admit air which tends to 
concentrate the heat and keep the fire from spreading. No bolts or 
screws are needed to keep it in position; a little fireclay packed be¬ 
tween it and the bottom of the forge is all that is necessary to make it 
air-tight at the base and keep it in place. 

In all kinds of welding it is important that there be a fair depth 
of fire between the tuyere and the work so that the oxygen in the air 
will be consumed before it reaches the pieces being heated, otherwise 
the work will scale and only unite with difficulty if it unites at all. 












































WELDING 


23 


For any kind of welding, hollow fires should be used when the shape 
of the work will permit. In no case should the work be allowed to 
come in contact with the fuel any more than is necessary. 

Fluxes for Welding 1 

Wrought iron can be welded in a clean, well-kept fire without 
necessarily using a flux of any kind except when the work is very 

thin. Fine, clean sand will answer the purpose. 
With steel of any kind it is different, as there 
is no kind of steel that will stand the same 
amount of heat as wrought iron. A flux of some 
kind must be used to get the separate pieces in 
a condition to adhere to each other. There is a 
large variety of welding compounds on the mar¬ 
ket; some of them are suited for one class of 
welding, some of them for other classes. Weld¬ 
ing plates or any of the gritty brands are suit¬ 
able for any kind of welding when the pieces are 
heated separately. For pieces put together pre¬ 
vious to welding, as in split welds, or when 
taking a second heat, usually termed a “wash,” 
a compound or flux that will flow freely should 
be used- 

When borax is used for a flux it will give the 
best results if burned, which can be done by 
heating it in a crucible until it has been reduced to a liquid state. It 
should then be poured on a flat surface to form a sheet. When cold it 
can easily be broken up and pulverized. The powder can be used as it 
is, or it can be mixed with an equal quantity of fine, clean sand and 
about 25 per cent of iron (not steel) filings or small chips. 

Too much care or attention cannot be given to welding. Poor weld¬ 
ing may mean a railway wreck, a steamship disaster, or a number of 
other things likely to endanger life and property. 



Fig. 19. Tuyere for 
Portable Forge in Figs. 
16 and 17 







CHAPTER III 


\ 

THE FORGING OF HOOKS AND CHAINS* 

Most of the available information relative to hooks and chains is of a 
technical nature, and is better suited to meet the needs of the designer 
and draftsman than the blacksmith. There are given numerous 
tables of dimensions, and sizes, angles, etc., for finished hooks, but no 
information or rule seems to have been published whereby the black¬ 
smith may arrive at a definite conclusion as to the diameter and 
length of material to use for hooks of different capacities. This con¬ 
dition has been responsible not only for a great deal of guess work, 
but also for the existence of poorly-constructed and very unsatifactory 
hooks, which generally have required more time and material to make 
than necessary. When hooks of either of the types shown at B and 
C. Fig. 20, are to be forged, stock of the diameter A of the hook 





Fig. 20. Two Common Types of Crane Hooks 

should be used. If a hook is made in proportion to a chain to which 
it is to be attached, the easiest and simplest method of determining 
the right diameter of material to use is to multiply the diameter of 
the material of which the chain is made by 2*4. For obtaining the 
length of the material for the hook, multiply the diameter by 7. Take 
for example a chain of standard pattern made from material y 2 inch 
in diameter, which is generally recognized as the correct size for a 
working load of 1 % ton; then y 2 inch X 2% = 1 % inch; 1% inch 
X 7 = 8% inches; therefore 8% inches of material 1% inch in diam¬ 
eter is the right amount of stock to use for a hook that will take a 
working load of 1 y 2 ton. If properly forged, a hook made from this 
material will be in accordance with the tables of dimensions generally 
given for crane hooks. 

Swivel hooks up to 3000 pounds capacity are made from the end of a 
bar which ought to be cut the right length to permit the making of a 

* Machinery, April, 1909. 



























FORGING HOOKS AND CHAINS 25 

certain number without waste. The first operation is to taper the 
end of the bar for the point of the hook as shown in Fig. 21. Where 
there is a power or steam hammer this is done by means of spring 
swages made with a taper impression as shown in Fig. 23. A suffi¬ 
cient length of the stock for one hook is then heated and bent to 
about two-thirds of a circle.t After the hook is bent, it is removed 
from the bending device and is tapered or “fished” on the back at the 
same heat, by using tapering tools made on the same principle as 
spring swages, and shown in Fig. 24. The faces are slightly convex 



Figf. 21. Tapering: the End of the Bar 
for the Point of the Hook 


- 

■ f —- ~ : b 

Machinery,N.Y. 

Fig-. 22. Tapering and Shaping the 
Upper End of an Eye Hook 


lengthwise, and the edges well rounded off to prevent leaving marks 
on the work. As the back of the hook is tapered, it is drawn a little 
on the outside; this closes it sufficiently, so that but very little finish¬ 
ing or truing up by hand is necessary. It is now ready to be sep¬ 
arated from the bar. Material for heavier swivel hooks, and all sizes 
of hooks to be made with eyes, should be cut in lengths that will 
each make one hook. The reason for this is that swivel hooks over 
3000 pounds capacity would be too stiff and heavy to be bent by a hand 
bending device, and hooks with eyes must be tapered at both the neck 
and the point. 


Fig. 23 




Fig. 24 

Figs. 23 and 24. Tools used in Forging Hooks 


Eye hooks can be tapered at both neck and point with the same 
swages as are used for tapering the points of swivel hooks. The first 
operation in making eye hooks is to taper the neck, after which the 
portion for the eye should be flattened down to about half the thick¬ 
ness of the material used, and roughly rounded as shown in Fig. 22. 
The hole for the eye is then punched, the blacksmith removing as 
little stock as possible and drifting until the hole is large enough to 
admit of tools of the style shown in Fig. 25 being used to finish the 
inside to a half circular section. These tools are used in pairs; one 

f For this bending, a device may be used similar to, but heavier than, that 
shown in Figs. 17 and 18, page 17, of Machinery's Reference Series No. 44, 
“Machine Blacksmithing.” 





































































26 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


tool is placed upon the lower die of the steam hammer, the eye of 
the hook fitted over it, and the other tool is inverted and placed on 
the upper side of the eye. Two or three blows of the hammer practi¬ 
cally finishes the inside of the eye. 

The outside is finished at the anvil by using another tool of exactly 
the same shape as that shown in Fig. 25, but provided with a shank 
to fit the square hole in the anvil. A short swage, the face of which 
is radial, and having a circular impression well backed off at the 
edges, as shown in Fig. 26, is used to smooth the outside as the eye 
rests on the tool in the anvil. When this is done, the point is tapei ed 
and the hook is ready for bending, which on the smaller sizes may 
be done at the anvil without special tools; but large sizes of both 



Fig. 28 


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Fig. 29 



Mach tv ery,N. Y. 

Fig. 30 

Figs. 25 to 30. Tools used in Forging Hooks and Chains 

types can be more easily and quickly bent at the steam hammer by 
using the former shown in Fig. 31 to start the bend. The body of the 
former is of cast iron, with a steel wedge or binder. Hooks to be 
bent are heated all over; the portion for the shank of swivel hooks is 
placed between two V-blocks C which are made to fit between the lugs 
of the former, and are held firmly in place by wedge B. A steel block 
A, Figs. 28 and 31, the face of which is made on an arc to conform 
to the radius of the former, and having a circular impression the 
entire length of the face, is placed on the upper side of the hook, and 
the bend is started either by gradually admitting steam to the cylin¬ 
der of the hammer and pressing the hook down as far as the former 
will admit, or by a series of light blows. The hook is removed from 
the former, and the bending is continued until the hook is bent to 
about two-thirds of a circle, by placing it between the dies of the steam 
hammer as shown in Fig. 32. The back is tapered in the same man¬ 
ner as are smaller sizes, and the inside is trued up on the taper man- 



























































FORGING HOOKS AND CHAINS 


27 


diel, Pig. 29. The advantage of having the mandrel tapered is that 
it can be used to true up different sizes. Large eye hooks are bent 
and finished in exactly the same manner except that instead of using 
V-blocks to hold them on the former, two pieces of steel made to fit 
the eye of the hook and the lugs of the former as shown at D and E, 
Fig. 27, are used. 


The Forging of Chains 


It is very seldom that chains are forged by the ordinary blacksmith, 
apart from making a link to repair an old chain, joining two pieces 
together, or attaching them to hooks or rings. Most of the chains 
used are made by chain makers who seldom do anything else. They 
are generally such experts in this kind of work that they can turn 
out chains in less than half the time it would take the men who only 
make a link occasionally. Nearly all blacksmiths, however, have to 



Fig-. 31. Device for Starting the Bend 
in a Crane Hook 


Fig. 32. Completing the 
Bend of a Hook 


do more or less chain repairing, and it is well for them to be posted 
on this particular class of work. In making chains, the following 
dimensions will prove satisfactory for general purposes. For nota¬ 
tion, refer to Fig. 33. 

B = width of link inside = 1 1 A A, 

C — length of link outside = 5 A, 

D = length of link inside = 3 A, 

E = width of link outside — 3^4 A. 

Large sizes of standard pattern chains are a trifle shorter than the 
dimensions given above, but for all practical purposes, the formulas 
given can be followed. The length of chain links inside being only 
three times the diameter of the material of which they are made 
makes it rather difficult to join two pieces of chain together wfith a 
link the same length as the rest of the chain. As one link of each of 
the pieces to be joined must be placed inside the connecting link before 
it can be welded, but very little space is left for holding the con¬ 
necting link with tongs, and but small room for its being placed on 
the horn of the anvil for finishing it after the welding. The easiest 
way to do work of this kind is to bend the link and scarf it as 
shown at F, Fig. 33; then bend the scarfed ends around and close 
them together as at G. After this the link should be heated all over 
and twisted at the lower end, as shown at H, until the scarfed ends 
































28 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


come far enough apart to allow the end links of the pieces to be 
joined to pass over the ends. The ends are now twisted back to their 
first position and the link is ready for welding as shown at K. The 
link being already hot, and the end links of the chain cold, it comes 
to a welding temperature when placed in the fire, before the rest 
of the chain is affected by the heat. The tongs shown in Fig. 30 are 
the best kind to use either for chain making or repairing, as they 
take a good hold upon the work and do not cover enough of it to 
be in the way. 

Chains used in connection with cranes or hoists for lifting heavy 
pieces are generally made with a hook at one end and a ring at the 
other; sometimes the chains are single, but quite often two, three or 
four chains and hooks may be attached to the same ring, according 



Pig. 33. Notation for Chain Dimensions, and Successive Stages in the 
Welding of a Chain Link connecting Two Pieces of Chain 

to the shape of the pieces they are intended to support. In places 
where a number of this kind of chains are used it will be found a 
good plan to give each chain or set of chains a number which should 
be marked upon them, together with their lifting capacity, in some 
place where it will be easily seen. A good way to do this is to use 
a large flat link made from the solid between the ring and the chain 
as shown in Fig. 34. The holes in the ends are punched and nicely 
rounded, the same as eyes for hooks. . The flat space between the 
holes is used for the number, working capacity, or any other marks 
that may be necessary. Lifting chains should be annealed occasional¬ 
ly; by having them numbered or otherwise marked it is easy to keep 
a record of each chain, when and how it has been repaired, when an¬ 
nealed, etc. 

Crane hooks are often used for purposes which make it impossible 
to get the load in the center of the hook. The point then takes the 
greater part of the strain, and hooks for such service ought to be 
made from very heavy bar at least three times the diameter of the 
chain. 

No definite information can be given for the rings, as the size of 
material to use depends entirely upon the diameter of the ring; the 
larger the ring the heavier the material should be. It is safest and 
































FORGING HOOKS AND CHAINS 29 

best to make rings just as small in diameter as can be conveniently 
used; the material should in no case be less than one and one-half 
times the diameter of the chain to which the rings are to be at¬ 
tached. Links used for the purpose of connecting chain and hook 
should be made as short as possible, from material slightly heavier 
than that of which the chain is made; 9/16 inch is about right for 14 - 
inch chains, larger and smaller chains to have the links for attaching 
the hooks or rings in corresponding proportion. 

Anyone w'ho has ever attached hooks or rings to chains knows what 
awkward work it is, especially if the chains are of heavy dimensions; 
either the hook will come in the way when welding the link next to 
it, or the chain will keep moving around the sides of the ring. This 
difficulty can be overcome to a certain extent when attaching hooks 
by placing the link used for the purpose in the eye of the hook, and 
driving a wedge behind it as shown in Fig. 35. This holds the link 



Pig. 34. Marking Chains on Special Pig. 35. A Kink when Welding 

Marking Link Link connecting Hook 

and Chain 

firmly in position while the hook is held in tongs. In attaching 
chains to a ring, when plain links are used for the purpose, these 
should be left open enough at one end for the ring. Rings should be 
prepared for welding in the same manner as shown at F, G, H, and 
K, Fig. 33. In cases where more than one chain is to be connected 
with one ring, the different pieces of chain should be bound together 
with wire to prevent their moving around the sides of the ring while 
it is being heated and welded. 

In repairing old and w r orn chains, material heavier than the orig¬ 
inal size of the chain should never be used, as the new link then will 
act as a wedge, and will put a breaking strain on the link. It is al¬ 
ways preferable to repair with material the same size as the chain, 
or, where the links are very much worn, material slightly smaller 
than the chain will give better satisfaction, as it will readily find a 
bearing in the worn ends of the links without bringing any addi¬ 
tional strain upon them. The new links will be just as strong as the 
rest of the chain. It is by no means uncommon to see chains that 
have been repaired with links here and there throughout their length 
of material considerably heavier than the original size of the chain, 
which is a mistaken idea of making a strong job, for “chains are 
never stronger than their weakest link.” 

The best material to use for chains, hooks and rings is a good 
grade of wrought iron, such as Swedish or Lowmoor iron, either of 




























30 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


which is freer from silicon, phosphorus, sulphur, or other impurities 
than the more common brands. The tensile strength of the best 
grades of wrought iron does not exceed 23 tons to the square inch, 
while mild steel of about 0.15 per cent carbon will have a tensile 
strength nearly double this; but the ductility and toughness of 
wrought iron, which is greater than that of any grade of steel, is in its 
favor for making appliances that are to be subjected to heavy strains 
and loads, as it will always give warning by bending or stretching 
before it fractures or snaps off. 


CHAPTER IV 


MISCELLANEOUS BLACKSMITH SHOP 
APPLIANCES AND METHODS 

In the present chapter a number of useful blacksmith shop appli¬ 
ances and methods are illustrated and described. The appliances 
shown have been used by practical blacksmiths in various shops in 
the country, and the methods described are endorsed by their ex¬ 
perience. 

A Cheap Home-made Forg-e* 

To make a cheap forge, a cylinder is first made about 3 feet 6 
inches in diameter and about 2 feet 9 inches high, from %-inch sheet 
steel, as shown in Fig. 36. Then two holes are cut in this cylinder 
opposite each other about 9 inches from the top edge. These holes 



should be large enough to allow a 2 y 2 - or 3-inch common steam pipe 
to pass through freely. For a forge intended for heavy forging, a 
3-inch pipe is to be preferred. The pipe should be long enough to 
pass through the cylinder and extend about 2 inches outside on one 
side, and 6 or 8 inches on the other side of the cylinder. The end 
of the pipe that extends out about 2 inches should be threaded, and a 
cap should be screwed on this end in such a way that it can be re¬ 
moved or put on by hand. A wind gate is now put on the other end 
of the pipe, and this is then attached to the blast pipe. After having 
laid the pipe in place temporarily, a 1%-inch hole is drilled into the 
pipe on one side, and on each side of this hole three %-inch holes, 
followed by two %-inch holes, about 3 inches apart, are drilled. A 
piece of steel, one inch thick, about 4 or 5 inches wide, and long 
enough so that it will go at least one-third around the pipe, is now 
made. In the center of this piece a 1%-inch hole is drilled, and the 
piece is bent so that it will fit tne outside of the pipe. This piece is 
placed directly over the 1%-inch hole in the pipe, being attached with 
some fire clay. It serves the purpose of prolonging the life of the 

* Geo. T. Coles, Machinery, October, 1908. 
































32 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


pipe and keeps the pipe from burning out at the hole. After the forge 
constructed in this manner is leveled up, broken brick, sand, dirt and 
cinders are dumped in and packed firmly up to the lower side of the 
pipe. One-half inch bolts or rivets, about 1 y 2 inch long, are put in 
the small holes, and then the remaining part of the cylinder is filled 
up with cinders and packed firmly, space being left to form a pit for 
the fire. The forge is now ready for use. 

The advantages of this forge are: It is possible to make a large 
or small fire, according to the requirements; if a long fire is required 
one can pick out enough of the cinders and take out the bolts or 
rivets mentioned; the length of the fire can be adjusted to the re¬ 
quirements by taking out more or less bolts; there is no brick or fire 
clay lining to be set before the forge can be used. The writer has 




Fig. 37. First Operation in reducing the Diameter of a Tool Steel Bar 

under the Steam Hammer 

built several of these forges in various shops, and they give the best 
of satisfaction. The forge will work well until the pipe rusts out, 
and then another pipe is made and put in place at very small expense, 
and very little loss of time. 

When the fire gets dirty, use the poker and poke the dirt down 
through the hole. Take off the cap at the end of the pipe and open 
the wind gate and blow out the cinders inside of the pipe. It takes 
no more than two minutes to clean a fire in one of these forges. The 
writer prefers this forge to any other as the most serviceable and in¬ 
expensive one to use on any class of work. It is adapted to a great 
variety of forging. The writer has made big blanking dies, welded 
8 -inch diameter shafts, and put 14 -inch links in chains, on the same 
forge. 

Reducing 1 the Diameter of Tool Steel under the 
Steam Hammer* 

It is often necessary to reduce the diameter of a piece of tool steel 
from its original size to perhaps one-half that diameter. This is 
very common in the making of taps and reamers of large diameters, 


* Geo. T. Coles, Machinery, January, 1908. 


































MISCELLANEOUS APPLIANCES AND METHODS 33 

where it is wanted to have the shank of considerable smaller diam¬ 
eter than the main part of the tool itself. It is evident that it is a 
great deal cheaper to forge down the diameter of the shank in such 
cases, than to use solid stock of the full diameter of the tool, and re¬ 
duce it by turning, but it is necessary that the work of reducing 
the diameter under the steam hammer is done in the proper manner. 
Many blacksmiths do not seem to know how this work should be 
properly accomplished. The writer has seen many of them take a 
bar of steel, put it into the fire, leaving it there until the bottom side 
had arrived at a red-heat, and then turn it and leave it in the fire 
until the other side got heated, paying no attention to the uniformity 
of the heat of the piece. The work is then taken to the steam ham¬ 
mer and reduced by continually rolling it around on the sides until 



Machinery, N.Y. 1 


Fig. 38. Successive Steps in reducing the Diameter of a Round Bar 

it is reduced to the size wanted. The result of this procedure 
is always a forging with a spongy or “piped” center. When this 
sponginess is finally detected in the tool, the steel is blamed as being 
poor, but as a matter of fact, in most cases, the steel has been satis¬ 
factory to start with, and the fault is to be found in improper treat¬ 
ment in the blacksmith shop. 

The proper w r ay to reduce the diameter of a piece of tool steel is to 
first heat it uniformly, and then place it in the steam hammer as 
shown in Fig. 37. The blacksmith then proceeds to mark the bar on 
all four sides with a %-inch round machine steel bar, long enough to 
hold in the hand. This marking is intended to give a guidance as to 
the amount of reduction necessary. When the four sides have been 
marked as in Fig. 37, then proceed to mark the four corners in the 
same manner. The piece is turned around from one side to the one dia¬ 
metrically opposite, receiving a blow each time, until a groove all 
around the piece is made to the proper depth. Then the diameter is 
reduced by hammering first on one side, and then on the opposite 
side of the piece, until a square of the size wanted is produced, as 
shown in Fig. 39. Then the four corners are hammered in a uniform 
manner until the piece gets an octagon shape, as in Fig. 40. Next 
the eight corners of the octagon are hammered down, making sixteen 


c i 

t % < 







































































34 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


sides, always making sure that the next corner hammered down is 
diametrically opposite the one just operated upon. Finally, if a 
swage of the proper size is on hand, the piece can be rounded with 
this; otherwise when all the corners have been reduced so that they 
are hardly visible, it is possible to round the piece nicely with even 
hammer blows until the correct size is arrived at. In Fig. 38 are 
shown the consecutive shapes assumed by a piece of steel worked 
down in the manner described. 

It is evident that by rounding continually after the first blow is 
struck, the blow, as shown in Fig. 41, is not directed on a point that 
has a firm support directly under it, and a kind of twisting action 
takes place, causing one-half of the bar to have a tendency to slide in 
relation to the other half of the bar, the result being that the center 
of the bar is spoiled, and a spongy or, perhaps, a piped center results. 



Correct and Incorrect Methods of Reducing the Diameter 

In some cases this hollow or piped center is of no consequence, as, 
for instance, when a hole is later to be drilled through the piece, re¬ 
moving the metal at the center, but it is evident that all efforts should 
be directed to avoid results of this kind. 

Making- Collars under the Steam Hammer* 

Fig. 42 illustrates a method of making collars under the steam 
hammer. A large number of collars of different sizes were to be 
made, and it was necessary that these collars should be made cheaply. 
The practice had been to buy drop forgings for these collars, but by 
the method explained below they were made much more cheaply. 
The material used consisted of scrapped ends of round machine steel 
bars in various sizes from 2 to 4 inches in diameter. A set of dies 
of different sizes from iy 2 to 4 y 2 inches inside diameter were made, 
making the holes tapered as shown in the illustration. Then a lot 
of short punches were made to correspond to these dies, but were 
made y s inch smaller in diameter than the holes in the dies. None 
of the punches was longer than 2 inches, and some of them were not 
longer than 1% inch. These were also made tapered as shown. After 
ascertaining the amount of material needed for a certain size of col¬ 
lar, three, four or five blanks were cut off from a piece of shafting at 

* Geo. T. Coles, Machinery, June, 1907. 


I 1 
t t i 



























MISCELLANEOUS APPLIANCES AND METHODS 35 

one neat. The pieces were then thrown back into the fire and one at 
a time taken to the steam hammer, hammering them down until they 
were of about the right thickness, preferably a little thicker than 
the size called for. They were then rounded up and flattened again, 
and the die placed in the steam hammer with the heated blank on it 
and the punch on top as shown in the illustration, and with one or 
two moderately hard blows of the hammer, the punch was driven 
through very easily and the collar was forged. For varying the size 
of the holes in the collars to be made, taper pins of crucible tool 
steel were made to drive into the holes after they had been punched. 

The plan was so successful that after tlm scrap steel had been used 
up, regular bar stock was used for making the collars. The punch- 



ings from the larger collars were used for making the smaller ones, 
so that there was very little waste; in fact, the waste was less than 
15 per cent. 

If the punch should happen to shear the die at any time, the black¬ 
smith can work the die over in a few minutes by closing it up and 
then driving the punch in until the hole is again of the right size. 
It is not necessary to have sharp edges on the die and punch, but 
it is necessary to have the bottom and top of the punch as nearly paral¬ 
lel as possible, to prevent the hammer from driving the punch to 
one side. Care should be taken that the punch is central on the 
blank before the hammer is applied, so that shearing the die will be 
avoided. Over 700 collars can be punched with one die without any 
trouble. 

Forging an Eye-bolt* 

The writer once had occasion to make some 1%-inch eye-bolts, that 
is, eye-bolts having 1%-inch shank, for generators, and with the tools 


* Geo. T. Coles, Machinery, September, 1908. 





























36 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 

at hand he found it a rather difficult job. In the first place a 2- by 4- 
inch machine steel bar was hammered down enough for a shank 
about 2 inches in diameter. The piece was then cut off about 4 
inches from the shoulder, and a 2-inch hole punched in .the center, 
which nole was thereafter increased to 3 inches. The corners were 
then cut off, as shown at B in Fig. 44, and the inside and outside cor¬ 
ners around the hole were removed in order to procure a circular 
section at this place. The result was a fairly good-looking job, but 
the time it required to make the forging was too great, it having re¬ 
quired about three hours to make the first eye-bolt, and when the 
time was cut to 2 y 2 hours, it was considered as doing well. 


r- 2 *-*i 


i / 


me 







The writer, however, was not satisfied, and when receiving an 
order for as many as 12 eye-bolts, he undertook to make a forming 
tool. The tool was made, and the time was cut to three-quarters of 
of an hour on each eye-bolt, and by using the furnace, they could be 
made in one-half hour each. It took the writer and a helper about 
five hours to make the forming tool, and there was four hours ma¬ 
chine work on it, making a total of nine hours, or a total cost, includ¬ 
ing shop cost, of about $11.00. Considering the cost of the first eye- 
bolt to be in the neighborhood of $4.00, including the shop cost, the 
saving in time quickly paid for the tool. In the following is de¬ 
scribed how the tool was made. 

One of the best of the eye-bolts previously made was filed up smooth 
and well rounded for the purpose of forming the tool. A ring was also 
made of 1 14 -inch round machine steel, 3% inches inside diameter, as 























MISCELLANEOUS APPLIANCES AND METHODS 


shown at A, Fig. 44, intended for making the first indention in the 
tool. After this, two pieces of locomotive driving axles were ob¬ 
tained, and two pieces or plates made, 7 inches square by 2y 2 inches 
thick. The corners of these were hammered, as shown in Fig. 43. 
The two pieces were heated, aqd the ring placed between them, and 
then hammered together. After this, a piece of 1%-inch round steel 
was used for forming the groove for the shank as shown at A, in Fig. 
43. The plates were then again heated, and after having removed 
the scale, the eye-bolt was put in place between them, and once again 
the plates were hammered together, after which the edges were 
worked up with a bob-punch to get them sharp. Then the eye-bolt 
was put between the plates again for the final blow: 



Machinery, A'. JT. 

Fig. 44. Successive Steps in Forging an Eye-bolt 


When the steel plates had cooled off, two holes were drilled at op¬ 
posite corners, as shown at B in Fig. 43, while the eye-bolt still re¬ 
mained in place. The plates were then bolted together, and a hole 
drilled through the center, as shown at C in Fig. 43. This hole was 
bored out to 2% inches diameter. The bolts were then taken out, 
and the holes at the corners drilled for %-inch pins, which were then 
driven into the bottom part, with the ends tapered slightly on the 
outer end, so as to enter the holes in the upper part of the tool. The 
pins were of such length that when the dies were placed together, the 
pins were below the surface of the dies. Finally holes were drilled 
in one corner of the upper die at D, Fig. 43, to fit the jaws of the 
tongs for handling it. 

r fhe blank forgings may now be made in the same way as before, and 
as shown at B in Fig. 44. The blanks are placed between the form- 






















































































No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


ing dies, and these are hammered together, and when the eye-bolt is 
taken out, the surplus metal will be found around the outside of the 
eye-bolt and in the hole, as shown at C, in Fig. 44. This fin is cut 
off from the outside, and the eye-bolt is then again heated and placed 
in the die for a final blow. Then a short piece of steel, 3 inches in 
diameter and about 1% inch long, as shown at D . Fig. 44, is placed 
on the die of the steam hammer, and a light blow will clean out the 
inside edge of the eye-bolt, leaving it finished as shown at E, in Fig. 
44, excepting for cutting the shank to the proper length. 

Welding 1 a High-speed Steel Cutter to a Machine Steel Body* 

On account of the high price of high-speed steel, its use, particu¬ 
larly for heavy tools, has been rather limited in the past. All kinds 
of devices in the form of tool-holders have been adopted whereby a 
small tool made of high-speed steel performs the cutting, while the 
remainder of the tool, or the holder, is of cheaper material. Many 
attempts have been made to weld high-speed steel onto mild steel, as 



c 


Z 


A 


■Fig. 45. High-speed Steel Cutter to be welded to 
Shank of Machine Steel 


well as onto high carbon steel, in order that a superior cutting edge 
may be presented to the work, while the cost of the tool is still kept 
down to a reasonable figure, the required size and stiffness of the 
tool being provided for by the body of cheaper material. All attempts 
to weld high-speed steel onto high carbon steel or machine steel have, 
however, until quite recently, proved futile. This is apparently due 
to the different coefficients of expansion of the different steels, high¬ 
speed steel having a low coefficient of expansion. * 

Lately a welding process, however, has been invented which is con- 

mr 

trolled by the Fusion Welded Metals Co., Ltd., 56 Victoria St., West¬ 
minster, London, by means of which it is possible to weld high-speed 
steel onto other steels. The operations are very simple. The weld¬ 
ing of the two steels is performed by means of a thin film of copper. 
The copper is placed in the form of a feeder along the line of the 
joint. The parts to be welded are then surrounded by a reducing 
compound and are placed in a furnace where the temperature is 
raised to about 2200 degrees F. The gas which is formed by the 
burning of the compound seems to affect the copper in such a way 
that the latter is reduced to a fluid as thin as spirits of wine, and in 
this condition it penetrates the molecular surfaces of the two classes 
of steel and produces actual cohesion and not merely adhesion. In 
fact, the weld becomes stronger than the remainder of the metal, so 
that if the two pieces being welded are forced apart, the line of frac- 

* Machinery, September, 1908, and May, 1909. 











MISCELLANEOUS APPLIANCES AND METHODS 


39 


ture will follow the course of a new break rather than pass through 
the joint. The weld is so close that in some cases it is hardly pos¬ 
sible to find a trace of the copper. A wide field of usefulness is pre¬ 
dicted for this process. One application which has already been sug¬ 
gested, and where the process most likely will be most commonly 
used, is that of welding high-speed steel to carbon or machine steel 
bodies for the production of high-speed cutting tools at a moderate 
price. 

Another method for welding high-speed steel cutters to machine 
steel bodies or shanks was patented lately by Mr. Paul A. Viallon, 
102 Avenue Parmentier, Paris, France. The process, is comparative¬ 
ly simple and inexpensive, and if it should prove successful, would 



* undoubtedly be valuable in the metal trades. The machine steel 
shank is indented about as shown at A in Fig. 45, and the high-speed 
steel cutter may have the appearance shown at B. The surfaces C 
and D are well finished, and the shank and the cutter are both heated 
to a cherry-red heat. Solder is applied on the surface C, the cutter 
is placed on it, and the two parts are forced together by heavy pres¬ 
sure. This operation has the effect of melting the soldering ma¬ 
terial and producing adherence between the cutter and the shank. 
The tool is now carefully put into the fire, from where it is with¬ 
drawn when it has reached a yellow heat (2000 to 2400 degrees F.). 
The weld is now completed by hammering at the top of the tool, first 
lightly, and then with heavier blows. The tool is permitted to cool 
slowly, and may then be dressed and finished and re-heated to the 
required hardening temperature for high-speed steel, and hardened. 
When the welded-on part of high-speed steel is worn down so that it 
must be replaced by a new cutter, the old cutter may be detached 
without injuring the machine steel shank, by heating the cutter 
























40 


No. 61—BLACKSMITH SHOP PRACTICE 


and the shank at the joint, and then removing the cutter by pressure 
applied on its side. 

Pneumatic Flue Welder* 

An inexpensive flue-welding device designed to handle large repair 
jobs is shown in Fig. 46. It consists of a mandrel A, which is at¬ 
tached to a cast-iron block B, and a pneumatic hammer (equipped 
with a swage), which is mounted on a lever C. As the illustration 
shows, this arm is fulcrumed to a bracket on the mandrel and is 
spring supported. The ends of the long pieces are first scarfed by 
lowering the back end of the tube until it is about six inches below 
the level of the mandrel. This gives a taper of approximately */£ 
inch to the inch. After all the long pieces are scarfed, short pieces 
about 8 inches long are placed in the furnace and heated on one end 
so that they can be drawn to a feather edge. This is also done 
under the pneumatic hammer. After all the flues are scarfed and 
the short ends made ready for welding, the horse upon which the 
outer ends of the flues rest is raised to bring the work level with 
the mandrel. All short pieces are then put on the flues while hot so 
that they will shrink tightly in place, thus insuring a good clean 
weld by preventing any dirt from getting between the surfaces to be 
welded. After all flues are treated in this way the furnace is cleaned, 
and the welding done at a speed which would do credit to many of the 
costly flue-welding machines. 

* T. O. Martin, Machinery, February, 1010. 














/ 


























